Question

Posted by: Lolla | 2012/05/04

Breast Milk for an 18 month old

Dear Doc

To make a long story short, my son had problems latching, so I have been pumping breast milk for him since he was 4 days old. He is now 18 months old, and he seems to have problems digesting cow''s milk and milk products, if he has more than 3-4 servings of cow''s milk products a week he gets constipated, one of the reasons I kept pumping milk for him.

So to get back to my question, how much breast milk does he need a day?

Our expert says:

Dear Lolla
If you can sustain producing milk for your 18-month-old son to help him with possible milk intolerance then good and well. It is perfectly acceptable to wean an infant at the age of 12 months, so you could consider taking this step. If he develops constipation when he uses cow's milk then you can couteract this by including fruit and vegetables in his diet. Adding 1-2 boiled prunes to his porridge in the morning should prevent his constipation. By now he should be eating a fully balanced and varied diet to ensure that he does not develop deficiencies. Children of 1,5 years require approx. 2 cups of milk a day (500 ml) whether it is human breastmilk or cow's milk otherwise they will not obtain sufficient calcium (800 mg/day) for healthy growth of bones and teeth.
Best regards
DietDoc

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Our users say:

Posted by: DietDoc | 2012/05/05

Dear Lolla
If you can sustain producing milk for your 18-month-old son to help him with possible milk intolerance then good and well. It is perfectly acceptable to wean an infant at the age of 12 months, so you could consider taking this step. If he develops constipation when he uses cow's milk then you can couteract this by including fruit and vegetables in his diet. Adding 1-2 boiled prunes to his porridge in the morning should prevent his constipation. By now he should be eating a fully balanced and varied diet to ensure that he does not develop deficiencies. Children of 1,5 years require approx. 2 cups of milk a day (500 ml) whether it is human breastmilk or cow's milk otherwise they will not obtain sufficient calcium (800 mg/day) for healthy growth of bones and teeth.
Best regards
DietDoc

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